Current Macbook Pro or Lenovo T500?

College Life
1

<p>Ok so I'm not going to wait for the new Macbook Pro's, but if i'm gonna go Mac, I'm gonna buy the one that is out right now.</p>

<p>What do you recommend? I'm going to UMichigan, and engineering does not have a preference either way, it fits perfectly.</p>

<p>I'm spending 2500$ for the laptop, and I can get a pretty decent Macbook Pro, or a really suped up Lenovo T500 (btw, how much faster is DDR3 than DDR2? the Lenovo has DDR3, while the MBP has DDR2 I believe).</p>

<p>What do you guys recommend?</p>

2

<p>You'll get much more for your money if you go with the Lenovo. It has longer battery life and a slightly better build.</p>

<p>If you plan on spending $2500, I suggest that you get a suped up W500. You'll get a little bit more for your money than a Macbook Pro.</p>

<p>DDR3 is about twice as fast as DDR2 and uses less power.</p>

3

<p>DDR3 is faster but has a higher latency or something, don't remember. anyway, currently it's only marginally faster than DDR2.</p>

<p>how much battery life does the T500 have? Macbook Pros can get something like 4 hours.</p>

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<p>as far as i'm concerned, macbook pros can get up to 6-7 hours.</p>

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<p>The os x kernel works better with it's hardware, so the MBP will have a better battery life without sacrificing weight;Even with the discrete graphics card( 8600gt>>>>x4500hd). Won't you need a more powerful Video card to run intensive apps for engineering?</p>

<p>I will say that Lenovo products have better build quality than apple computers.The ddr3 ram is nice,though. I built a decent t500 and it came out to about $1,400; versus a 1700 MBP. I'd say choose whichever you like. </p>

<p>Keep in mind lenovo has accidental warranty, but Apple does not.</p>

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<p>What exactly is accidental warranty? Is that if you drop something by accident and Lenovo will cover it?</p>

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<p>yea,they will cover drops, spills, etc. It's like $261(for a limited time) for 3 years( accidental and any defective parts and services), while Apple's is like 225 or something for $3 years( non accidental). Dealing with applecare is also very annoying.</p>

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<p>You probably won't need the warranty. Thinkpads are built like tanks :p</p>

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<p>The T500 has a battery life of 6hr+ with the 9-cell battery. Though, the original spec sheets claim that it can go up to 8hr with intensive power saving features. Don't like the integrated? Spend $100 more to get a discrete ATI HD3650, which is roughly equivalent to the nVIDIA GeForce 9600.</p>

<p>Though - I have to say, with that kind of money, the W500 with the FireGL 5700 will blow away the MacBook Pro in every aspect except outside looks.</p>

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<p>^
and running osx</p>

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<p>And how much does a t500 with a 9cell weigh?</p>

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<p>I'd rather carry around a 5.4 lb laptop than one that weighs 6.5+( 9 cell is heavy). I get 4 and a half hours with my macbook just surfing the web( yes, airport ON). About 4 hours when listening to itunes music and surfing the web.</p>

<p>Plus after being a windows user for many years, i can vouch and say that os X is a more efficient OS. Snow leopard will be amazing.</p>

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<p>I agree. Using OS X Leopard is a nice breath of fresh air after using Windows my entire life. I was facing the same dilemma before I bought my macbook pro a month ago in that I was having a hard time swallowing the price I was paying when I could get a computer with much better specs for that price. I ended up going with the MBP and I'm very very happy with that decision. The premium that Apple make you pay is well worth the money in my opinion when you factor in the operating system and the integration.</p>

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<p>Gahhh this is driving me nuts. Here are the specs of my Macbook Pro for around ~2500$ (including the student discount and tax)</p>

<p>Specifications</p>

<pre><code>* 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x2GB
* 200GB Serial ATA @ 7200 rpm
* SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
* MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
* Apple Remote
* AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll
</code></pre>

<hr>

<p>Here's a Lenovo T500 (with educational discount, its $2257 without taxes so I'd say around 2500$ with taxes)</p>

<p>-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2) 25W
-Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate
-Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate US English<br>
-Microsoft Windows XP Professional US English RDVD
-15.4 WSXGA+ TFT, w/ CCFL Backlight
-ATI Mobility Radeon 3650 with 256MB
-2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)<br>
-UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
-Integrated Camera
-200 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm with Disk Encryption
-DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
-Express Card Slot & PC Card Slot
-Intel WiFi Link 5300 (3x3 AGN)</p>

<hr>

<p>What to do?! lol.</p>

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<p>for starters, you won't need 4GB of memory on a Mac...</p>

<p>if you happen to use a lot of peripherals, you might prefer the Lenovo since it probably has more than 2 USB ports.</p>

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<p>I don't really use many peripherals... but are you sure I don't need 4GB? I mean, I plan on using this laptop for the next 4 years, and won't applications/movies, etc. just keep getting more memory intensive?</p>

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<p>Even if you do want 4 GB don't upgrade it from apple.</p>

<p>they massively overprice memory upgrades.</p>

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<p>i think 2gbs ram is enough, and also why do you need to enroll to applecare protection plan which is really expensive?</p>

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<p>Well I just heard its good to have the warranty just in case something breaks, right?</p>

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<p>MacBook Pro, end of discussion. </p>

<p>Just switched my aunt from her relatively-new (and expensive) ThinkPad Reserve Edition to a MBP 2.5Ghz, no regrets thus far. It is an outstanding machine, would recommend getting AppleCare though for college.</p>